WO2018189633A1 - Automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a tethered mass in orbit - Google Patents

Automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a tethered mass in orbit Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2018189633A1
WO2018189633A1 PCT/IB2018/052401 IB2018052401W WO2018189633A1 WO 2018189633 A1 WO2018189633 A1 WO 2018189633A1 IB 2018052401 W IB2018052401 W IB 2018052401W WO 2018189633 A1 WO2018189633 A1 WO 2018189633A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
tether
mass
winding assembly
orbit
support structure
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2018/052401
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Riccardo MANTELLATO
Alvise ROSSI
Leonardo PELLEGRINA
Alessia GLODER
Mattia PEZZATO
Gilberto GRASSI
Alessandro FRANCESCONI
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Universita' Degli Studi Di Padova
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Publication date
Application filed by Universita' Degli Studi Di Padova filed Critical Universita' Degli Studi Di Padova
Publication of WO2018189633A1 publication Critical patent/WO2018189633A1/en

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64G—COSMONAUTICS; VEHICLES OR EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64G1/00—Cosmonautic vehicles
    • B64G1/22—Parts of, or equipment specially adapted for fitting in or to, cosmonautic vehicles
    • B64G1/64—Systems for coupling or separating cosmonautic vehicles or parts thereof, e.g. docking arrangements
    • B64G1/648—Tethers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64G—COSMONAUTICS; VEHICLES OR EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64G1/00—Cosmonautic vehicles
    • B64G1/10—Artificial satellites; Systems of such satellites; Interplanetary vehicles
    • B64G1/1078—Maintenance satellites
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64G—COSMONAUTICS; VEHICLES OR EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64G1/00—Cosmonautic vehicles
    • B64G1/22—Parts of, or equipment specially adapted for fitting in or to, cosmonautic vehicles
    • B64G1/222—Parts of, or equipment specially adapted for fitting in or to, cosmonautic vehicles for deploying structures between a stowed and deployed state
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64G—COSMONAUTICS; VEHICLES OR EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64G1/00—Cosmonautic vehicles
    • B64G1/22—Parts of, or equipment specially adapted for fitting in or to, cosmonautic vehicles
    • B64G1/64—Systems for coupling or separating cosmonautic vehicles or parts thereof, e.g. docking arrangements
    • B64G1/646—Docking or rendezvous systems

Definitions

  • the present invention generally refers to an improved automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass - e.g. a probe, an instrument or any object - of a "tethered" type in orbit or a in free fall.
  • the automatic apparatus of the invention is al ⁇ so used, for example, for experimental applications under microgravity conditions obtained, for exam ⁇ ple, in specific plants, such as fall towers or aircrafts capable of performing parabolic flights.
  • microgravity means a particular con ⁇ dition obtainable by positioning a free-falling system inside a generic gravitational field.
  • microgravity conditions are ob- tained in spacecrafts moving along curved trajecto ⁇ ries, subjected only to the action of the gravita ⁇ tional field (orbiting spatial platforms, strato ⁇ spheric probe rockets, Keplerian trajectory airplanes); can be obtained also on Earth by free fall (fall towers ) .
  • the present invention refers to the field of mechanisms for unwinding and winding space tethers from a vehicle or satellite in gravi ⁇ tational orbit, particularly those mechanisms hav ⁇ ing a tether provided with high mechanical strength and having a length (also of 20-30 kilometers) for the passive deployment in gravitational orbit of a mass by a tether which is kept stretched by suita ⁇ bly managing the deployment speed thereof.
  • a low value of the friction coefficient for a space-grade tether unwinding mechanism is therefore a fundamental aspect, particularly, for enabling to passively unwind and control conductive and non- conductive tethers, such as those for the electro- dynamic propulsion for lifting a satellite to the gravitational Earth orbit or for maintaining it in the orbit itself, for the orbital decay or for the re-entry into the atmosphere of a satellite at the end of the operative service life thereof, etcet ⁇ era .
  • the present invention refers to mechanisms for unwinding a space-grade tether in a gravitational environment, having a low friction coefficient or a low unwinding resistance, in order to enable to passively unwind from an orbiting platform or vehicle a mass connected to said teth ⁇ er, upon applying an in-space deployment impulse, firstly supplied by separation means, for example, spring-type elastic means.
  • a mechanism of a known type substantially com ⁇ prises a support structure which abuts on a refer ⁇ ence surface, which is for example the outer sur ⁇ face of an active satellite or of a spacecraft in the Earth orbit, and also a winding assembly cou ⁇ pled to the support structure and cooperating with a space tether wound around the winding assembly and provided with a first end fixed to a mass to be impulsively deployed in a gravitational orbit, and with an opposite second end coupled to a retention element associated to the winding assembly.
  • a refer ⁇ ence surface which is for example the outer sur ⁇ face of an active satellite or of a spacecraft in the Earth orbit
  • a winding assembly cou ⁇ pled to the support structure and cooperating with a space tether wound around the winding assembly and provided with a first end fixed to a mass to be impulsively deployed in a gravitational orbit, and with an opposite second end coupled to a retention element associated to the winding assembly.
  • Said known unwinding mechanism also comprises spring-type separation means associated to the sup ⁇ port structure, and defining a loading position wherein the separation means are compressed by the mass stably held in a rest position, adjacent the separation means, for example by an interface plane interposed between the mass and separation means, and wherein the tether is wound around the winding assembly.
  • Such separation means define also an un ⁇ loading position wherein they are released, and the mechanical energy stored by them in the loading po ⁇ sition, is transformed into kinetic energy which determines the impulsive unwinding of the winding assembly and the deployment in orbit of the mass which in this way takes an operative condition, separated from the support structure.
  • a known mechanism for the deployment in the gravitational orbit of a tether provided at an end of a terminal mass comprises also braking means operatively connected to the winding assembly and supported by said support structure, cooperat ⁇ ing with the tether for decreasing the unwinding speed from the winding assembly during the deploy ⁇ ment in the gravitational orbit of the mass applied to the tether itself.
  • a first inconvenience of such device or mecha- nism for a known type space use is represented by the fact that it only enables to unwind the tether and mass associated to it, and does not provide to recover the tether (these systems are known as "on ⁇ ly expendable" ) : this results in a disadvantage for example when a determined launch of a mass fails because prevents to effectively and correctly re ⁇ peat it, or in case of a possible reuse of the tether for following and further launches thereof, potentially possible since the tether maintains un ⁇ altered for a long time its structural integrity by virtue of high mechanical strength materials by which the tether is made in the more developed practical solutions.
  • a last but not least inconvenience of the de ⁇ vice or mechanism of the above briefly described type is due to the high costs of the technology provided for manufacturing them which also increas- es the transport costs, use, and servicing.
  • the present inven ⁇ tion intends to offer a full solution.
  • the main object of the invention consists of providing an automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall which, with respect to the known type equivalent apparatuses, enables, when needed, also a con ⁇ trolled and effective recovery of the tether from the gravitational orbit, for making it again avail ⁇ able for new following launches.
  • said primary object of the pre ⁇ sent invention consists of implementing an improved automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall, which performs both a de ⁇ ployment of the tether and a winding of the tether itself in the outline defined by the support struc ⁇ ture of the automatic apparatus itself.
  • a last but not least object of the present in ⁇ vention consists of making available an automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall, which has manufacturing costs which are really competitive and in any case lower than the ones of analogous apparatuses of the prior art, for the same cost of the employed labor and raw ma ⁇ terials .
  • the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the invention conse ⁇ quently enables also the automatic or automatized recovery of the tether when in orbit, by causing to rewind it around the winding assembly for making it available for following launches in the gravita ⁇ tional Earth space (this characteristic being known as "multi-shot”) .
  • the improved automatic ap ⁇ paratus of the invention which comprises actuation means coupled to a retention element of the winding assembly and operatively connected to motorization means which, when are commanded by a processing and control central unit (or command unit) managed from Earth and by the in-board instrumentation of the transporting spacecraft, selectively moves the ac ⁇ tuation means in a first direction (generally a first rotation direction) , which causes the tether to be unwound from the winding assembly and, while positioning the separation means in the unloading (or releasing) position, to deploy in orbit the tether so that the mass can take the operative con ⁇ dition, and in a second direction (generally a sec ⁇ ond rotation direction) opposite to the first di ⁇ rection, which causes the tether to be wound around the winding assembly and the separation means to be repositioned in the loading (or compression) position .
  • a first direction generally a first rotation direction
  • a second direction generally a sec ⁇ on
  • the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "teth ⁇ ered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the inven ⁇ tion is extremely compact (it has an overall height which does not exceed 350 cm) and is light ⁇ weight so that is easily transportable and storable and also mountable on a spacecraft.
  • the automatic appa ⁇ ratus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall, of the invention exhibits a high operative reliability and a low power consumption, as opposed to the known type equivalent apparatuses which are also constructively more complex and more expensive than the improved automatic apparatus object of the pre ⁇ sent invention.
  • the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "teth- ered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the inven ⁇ tion is a completely automatic system which reduc ⁇ es the unavoidable risk margins due to the human component which, in the space application field, must, as known, tend to the absolute zero.
  • the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of the "tethered" mass in the gravitational field is par ⁇ ticularly fit to be used in experimental applica ⁇ tions destined to the industrialization which pro ⁇ vide microgravity conditions: under such condi ⁇ tions, the internal residual friction is very low (less than 100 mN) , there is a very low inertia when the tether is unwound from the central spool of the winding assembly (the moving mass is less than 1 g) and the control of the tether trajectory is very precise.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic simplified lateral view of the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in the gravitational field (or in orbit or in free fall) of the invention, the mass being in the operative condition;
  • FIG. 2 is a simplified axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of the invention, the mass being in the rest condition;
  • FIG. 3 is a simplified axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of the invention, the mass being in the step of being deployed in the orbit from the rest condition to the operative one;
  • FIGS. 4 and 5 are two distinct axonometric views of one of the constructive assemblies of the automatic apparatus of Figures 2 and 3 which form the inventive main core of the invention;
  • FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the construc ⁇ tive assembly of Figures 4 and 5;
  • FIGS 7 and 8 are two distinct axonometric views of another of the constructive assemblies of the automatic apparatus of Figures 2 and 3 which form the inventive main core of the invention;
  • - Figure 9 is a cutaway enlargement of the up ⁇ per part of the constructive assembly of Figures 7 and 8 ;
  • Figure 10 is a simplified axonometric view of Figures 7 and 8 ;
  • Figure 11 is a top simplified cutaway axono ⁇ metric view of Figure 10;
  • Figure 12 is an exploded axonometric view of the constructive assembly of Figure 6;
  • FIG. 13 is a first cutaway axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of Figure 2 ;
  • Figure 14 is a second cutaway axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of Figure 2 ;
  • Figure 15 is a partial cutaway enlargement of Figure 14;
  • Figure 16 is an axonometric view of the con ⁇ structive assembly of Figure 13 and 14;
  • FIG. 17 is a first cutaway axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of Figure 3;
  • FIG. 18 is a second cutaway axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of Figure 3;
  • FIG. 19 is a flow diagram explaining a general operation of a preferred embodiment variant of the automatic apparatus of the invention.
  • the improved automatic appa ⁇ ratus 1 comprises:
  • a support structure generally indicated by reference 2, adapted to abut on a reference sur ⁇ face, not illustrated, but formed for example by the outer surface of an active satellite or a spacecraft in the Earth orbit;
  • a winding assembly coupled to the support structure 2 and cooperating with a space-grade tether 4 wound around the winding assembly 3 and provided with a first end 4a fixed to a mass M (which is herein ex- emplifyingly represented by a type of probe) to be impulsively deployed in gravitational orbit and an opposite second end 4b coupled to a retention drag ⁇ ging element 5 associated to the winding assembly 3;
  • ref ⁇ erence 6 associated to the support structure 2, and defining:
  • - braking means generally indicated by refer ⁇ ence 7, operatively connected to the winding assem ⁇ bly 3 and supported by the support structure 2, co ⁇ operating with the tether 4 for decreasing the unwinding speed from the winding assembly 3 during said deployment in gravitation orbit of the mass M applied to the tether 4.
  • the improved auto ⁇ matic apparatus 1 comprises actuation means, gener- ally indicated by reference 8, coupled to the re ⁇ tention element 5 and operatively connected to the motorization means, generally indicated by refer ⁇ ence 9, which selectively move the actuation means 8 in a first direction, which causes the tether 4 to be unwound from the winding assembly 3 and, while the separation means 6 are positioned in said unloading position, causes the tensioned tether 4 to be deployed in orbit so that the mass M takes the operative condition, and in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, which causes the tether 4 to be wound around the winding assembly 3 and causes the separation means 6 to be reposi ⁇ tioned in the loading position in which are held by a suitable retention system, as will be described in the following.
  • winding assembly 3, braking means 7 and separation means 6 are substantially aligned to each other along a vertical axis Y and are contained in the vertical outline of the sup ⁇ port structure 2, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.
  • the braking means 7 are, in this particular case, suitably interposed between the winding assembly 3 and separation means 6, which, in turn, with respect to the winding assembly 3 and breaking system 7, are more distanced from a base platform 10 belonging to the support structure 2 and adapted to promote a transport, also by hand, by operators by virtue of the low overall weight of the automatic apparatus 1 of the invention.
  • motorization means 9 and winding assembly 3 are fixed to such base platform 10 of the support structure 2 and, as just said, are contained in the vertical outline of the lower part of the support structure 2.
  • the motoriza ⁇ tion means 9 comprise a servomotor, of a per se known type (provided with an internal auto- regulation speed, for example) and are operatively connected to the winding assembly 3 by transmission means, globally indicated by reference 11, adapted to cause the retention means 5 to rotate about the vertical axis Y defined by the winding assembly 3.
  • the retention element 5 put in rotation in this way, drags the tether 4 for:
  • the transmission means 11 preferably com ⁇ prise a gear, generally indicated by reference 12, the plate wheel 13 thereof is integral with the ac ⁇ tuation means 8 and the pinion 14 thereof meshing with such plate wheel 13 is connected to the motor ⁇ ization means 9.
  • a tubular cylindrical outer body 15 fixed to the base platform 10 and exhibiting, in the inner wall 15a, a first peripheral groove 16 which guides a projecting pin 17 (visible in Figures from 4 to 6) which belongs to the retention and dragging element 5 and supports the tether 4, the first periph- eral groove 16 communicating with a second annular groove 18 made in the tubular external body 15 for enabling to pass the actuation means 8 from a locking position to an unlocking position of the tether 4 when are moved in the hereinbefore defined first direction;
  • the tether 4 is rewound around the outer sur ⁇ face 19a of the central spool 19 when the actuation means 8 pass from the unlocking position to the locking position of the tether 4 when are moved in the second direction and when the separation means 6 pass from the unloading position to the loading position, and the mass M passes from the operative condition to the rest condition.
  • the actuation means 8 take again the locking position from the unlocking position, enabling in this way to rewind the tether 4 around the outer surface 19a of the central spool 19 and to recovery the mass M (consisting in recovering any space object by the spacecraft on which the automatic apparatus 1 of the invention is installed, for example) , by means of return means, not shown in the attached figures, which reposition the projecting pin 17 of the retention element 5 from the second annular groove 18 to the first peripheral groove 16.
  • the projecting pin 17 Before completely rewinding the tether 4 around the winding assembly 3 during the passage of the actuation means 8 from the unlocking position to the locking position, the projecting pin 17 abuts against end-of-stroke means, which in this particu ⁇ lar case are implemented by an end-of-stroke trans ⁇ versal corner 20 made in the inner wall 15a of the tubular outer body 15 and delimiting the first peripheral groove 16 oppositely to the outlet mouth 43 connecting the first peripheral groove 16 to the second annular groove 17: so that moving continu ⁇ ously the actuation means 8 causes to also rewind around the central spool 19 of the winding assembly 3, the starting portion of the tether 4 and conse- quently almost all the length thereof (aside from the segment extending from the projecting pin 17 to the central spool 19) .
  • the actuation means 8 comprise, in a non-limiting way, a fishing reel tether guide 21 (of the type employed in fish ⁇ ing rods) fixed to a support plate 22 integral with the motorization means 9 which cause the movement: the unlocking position of the actuation means 8 is the same as the open or vertical position of the fishing reel tether guide 21 (visible in Figures from 4 to 8, for example), while the locking posi ⁇ tion of the actuation means 8 is the same as the closed or horizontal position of the fishing reel tether guide 21 (visible in Figure 9, for example) .
  • Figures 7, 8 and 9 highlight the presence of a shaped bracket 44, preferably a sub ⁇ stantially C shaped bracket, which overlies the winding assembly 3 in order to define a type of bridge: the shaped bracket 44 centrally has a through hole 45 in which the tether 4 is inserted and which, therefore, acts as a further guide for the portion of the tether 4 just released from the winding assembly 3.
  • the auto- matic apparatus 1 of the invention comprises detec ⁇ tion means, generally indicated by reference 23, coupled to the winding assembly 3 and electrically connected to the hereinbefore cited processing and control unit (not shown) , and adapted to detect the passage of the tether 4 when the same is unwound from the winding assembly 3 by the motion of the actuation means 8 in the first direction, and/or when the tether 4 is rewound around the winding as ⁇ sembly 3 by the motion of the actuation means 8 in the second direction, so that the processing and control central unit calculates at least the length of the tether 4 which was unwound and compares it with a preset reference trajectory which must be faithfully followed, stored in the processing and control central unit for checking the progress of the tether 4 unwinding step, the deployment in gravitational orbit of the mass M, and the compli ⁇ ance to this reference trajectory.
  • the detection means 23 comprise in this case:
  • the light rays R sources 24 are housed in open profile superficial recesses 26 uniformly distrib ⁇ uted on the outer surface 19a of the central spool 19 and emit the light rays R towards the receivers (or optical sensors) 25 uniformly arranged on a laminar ring 27 at the top associated to and coaxi ⁇ al with the tubular outer body 15 surrounding the central spool 19; particularly, the laminar ring 27 is preferably a piece distinct from the tubular outer body 15 which surrounds the central spool 19 and to which is coupled by fixing means, not shown, and of a type per se known to a person skilled in the field.
  • the number of the light rays R sources 24 and receivers 25 is eight, as an exem ⁇ plifying indicative but preferred way: generally, however, the number of light rays R sources 24 and receivers 25 is inversely proportional to the length of the tether 4 to be deployed in orbit, in order to ensure the best accuracy or resolution when calculating the deployed length of the stretched tether 4 during the passage of the mass M from the rest position to the operative position.
  • FIGS. 2 and 3 show that they are ar ⁇ ranged at a preset distance from the base platform 10 belonging to the support structure 2 and, as shown in Figure 13, they are connected by support means, generally indicated by reference 28, at the bottom, to an interface intermediate plate 29 be ⁇ longing to the support structure 2 and defining a plane parallel to the plane defined by the base platform 10.
  • the braking means 7 are of a dynamic type since they are operatively con ⁇ nected to auxiliary motorization means, generally indicated by reference 30, coupled to the interface intermediate plate 29 of the support structure 2 and, in the presence of deviations of the actual trajectory of the tether 4 from the preset reference trajectory to be follow, are operated in order to automatically vary the spatial position of the braking means 7 and to precisely continuously time ⁇ ly adjust at least the unwinding speed of the teth ⁇ er 4 from the winding assembly 3 passing through the braking means 7 during the deployment in gravitational orbit of the tether 4.
  • the braking means 7 are operatively connected to the auxiliary motorization means 30 which are coupled to the support structure 2, and vary the space position of the braking means 7 during the deployment in gravitational orbit of the tether 4 and, by it, of the mass M, as a function of a more or less long portion (sometimes no portion at all, when required) of the tether 4 to be engaged in the braking means 7, established by controlling the preset reference trajectory which the tether 4 must follow, in order to consequently obtain an automat ⁇ ic and continuous reset of the error in the actual deployment trajectory of said tether 4 with respect to the present reference trajectory and the precise regulation at least of the unwinding speed of the tether 4 from the winding assembly 3 and, conse ⁇ quently, of the mass M from the support structure 2.
  • the braking means 7 comprise:
  • two rotating rollers 31, 32 made, for example, of anodized aluminum, each having an outer surface 31a, 32a provided with a friction coeffi ⁇ cient, and coupled to two side flanges 33, 34 sepa ⁇ rated from each other, opposite and facing each other, which makes them integral with each other;
  • the threaded transverse bars 35 defining a common main linear axis X parallel to a secondary linear axis X' de ⁇ fined by each of the two rotating rollers 31, 32 and is supported by a pair of mechanical bearings 38, 39 opposite to each other, each of them receives a predefined portion of the respective threaded transverse bar 35 and 51 and is arranged at the free end of a fixing block 46 projecting from the lower wall 29a of the intermediate inter ⁇ face plate 29 belonging to the support structure 2.
  • the auxiliary motorization means 30 rotatively move the threaded transverse bars 35, 51 consequently causing a variation of the recipro ⁇ cal spatial position of the two cylindrical rollers 31, 32, according to requirements associated to the actual trajectory of the tether 4, set by the benchmark consisting in the preset reference tra ⁇ jectory to be faithfully followed: the more the tortuousness of the tether 4 path passing between the cylindrical rollers 31, 32 increases, the more the tether 4 surface contacting the two cylindrical rollers 31, 32 increases and the more the speed of deploying the tether 4 from the winding assembly 3 and of putting the mass M in orbit decreases.
  • the braking means could com ⁇ prise a different number of cylindrical rollers, since such number can vary according to manufacturing choices starting from two, and a different num ⁇ ber of threaded transverse bars, since such number can vary as a function of manufacturing needs starting from one.
  • Figure 13 illustrates, that the sepa ⁇ ration means 6 are preferably of an elastic type and comprise preferably but in a non-exclusive way, a helical or compression spring 40 abutting against the upper surface 29b of the interface intermediate plate 29 and kept compressed in the closing posi ⁇ tion by the mass M which is stably kept in the rest condition, completely in the outline defined by the support structure 2 (in this case by a plurality of vertical columns 47 passing through the interface intermediate plate 29 and fixed at an end 47a to the base platform 2), by removable hooking means, generally indicated by reference 41.
  • a helical or compression spring 40 abutting against the upper surface 29b of the interface intermediate plate 29 and kept compressed in the closing posi ⁇ tion by the mass M which is stably kept in the rest condition, completely in the outline defined by the support structure 2 (in this case by a plurality of vertical columns 47 passing through the interface intermediate plate 29 and fixed at an end 47a to the base platform 2), by removable hooking means, generally indicated by reference 41.
  • the mass M when is in the rest condition (visible in Figures 13, 14, and 15), indirectly compresses the helical or compression spring 40 being arranged above an intermediate body 42 which separates the mass M from the helical or compression spring 40 by which is consequently in direct contact.
  • Figures 17 and 18 show the mass M while is going to separate from the support structure 2 due to the impulsive deployment con ⁇ ferred to it by the helical or torsion spring 40 of the separation means 6.
  • the inter ⁇ mediate body 42 acts as an axially upwardly sliding carriage, since the separation means 6 are re ⁇ leased, guided by the columns 47 for thrusting the mass M outside the support structure 2 and for ena ⁇ bling to put it in the gravitational orbit.
  • the removable hooking means 41 comprise, in this case, a plurality of projecting magnets 48 fixed to a laminar plate 49 disposed above the interface in ⁇ termediate plate 29 and aiding to support and line ⁇ arly guiding the separation means 6 during the releasing step: the projecting magnets 48 are arranged in order to pass through respective through openings 50 made in the intermediate body 42 and contactingly cooperate with the mass M when is in the rest condition.
  • the projecting magnets 48 are electrically sup ⁇ plied by the power unit available in board the spacecraft, wherein the automatic apparatus 1 of the invention is installed: by eliminating the electric current supply to the projecting magnets 48, these are no more capable of holding the mass M which, consequently, is free of being impulsively deployed in the Earth orbit by the separation means 6 which naturally take (by simply removing the mass M from them) the unloading position, while the actuation means 8 are moved in the beforehand defined first direction determined by the motorization means 9.
  • the overall operation of the improved automatic apparatus 1 of the invention is suitably managed by the processing and con ⁇ trol (or command) central unit hereinbefore de ⁇ fined, which contributes to the accuracy and relia ⁇ bility of the improved automatic apparatus 1 herein claimed .
  • FIG. 19 highlight, by a flow diagram, a general operative mode of the improved automatic apparatus 1 of the present invention: in this dia ⁇ gram, " I! “ is the length of the tether 4 exiting the winding assembly 3, while “ I! ' “ is the speed by which the tether 4 is unwound from the winding as- semb1y 3.
  • the tether 4 to be deployed in the gravitational Earth orbit has a high mechanical resistance and a length from approximately tenths of centimeters to several hundreds of kilometers (twenty-thirty kilo ⁇ meters, for example) .
  • the tether 4 is twist ⁇ ed for loosing a shape memory thereof, and exhibits a thickness generally comprised between 0.4 and 0.8 mm, generally equal to 0.6 mm.
  • the thickness of the tether 4 depends on the type of the employed tether ( electrodynamic tethers, coated tethers, etcetera) .
  • the space tether 4 used in the present inven ⁇ tion is made of any one of the materials selected in the assembly consisting of copper, aluminum, steel, glass fiber, quartz fiber or, preferably, of high density polyethylene (in the varieties known in the market by the trademarks "Dyneema®” or “Spectra®", synthetic fibers particularly adapted to manufacture tensile cables which have a mechani ⁇ cal strength fifteen times greater than the one of the steel) and other materials having a similar me ⁇ chanical strength, tensile strength, without elas ⁇ ticity or memory shape.
  • the braking means could have a different constructive arrangement in alternative optional variants of the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass of the invention, even though they have the same function, particularly of a dynamic brake for the deployment speed of the tether and by it of the mass to be put in the Earth gravitational orbit.
  • the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the invention can be installed in active satellites in order to be used for capturing space debris in orbit, for con ⁇ necting two satellites in orbit ("soft-docking") or more generally, for the on orbit servicing.

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Abstract

An automatic apparatus (1) for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass (M) in orbit (or in free fall) comprising: a support structure (2) abutting on a reference surface, a winding assembly (3) coupled to the support structure (2) and cooperating with a spacegrade tether (4) having a predefined mechanical strength and length, wound around the winding assembly (3) and provided with a first end (4a) fixed to a mass (M) to be impulsively deployed in the gravitational orbit, and with a second opposite end (4b) coupled to a retention element (5) associated to the winding assembly (3), separation means (6) associated to the support structure (2) and defining a loading position, wherein the separation means (6) are loaded by the mass (M) stably kept in a rest condition, close to said separation means (6), and the tether (4) is wound around the winding assembly (3), and an unloading position wherein the separation means (6) are released and the mechanical energy stored by them in said loading position, is transformed into kinetic energy that causes the tether (4) to be impulsively unwound from the winding assembly (3) and the deployment in orbit of the mass (M) which takes an operative condition, separated from the support structure (2), and braking means (7) operatively connected to the winding assembly (3) and supported by the support structure (2), cooperating with the tether (4) for decreasing the unwinding speed from the winding assembly (3) during the deployment in the gravitational orbit of the mass (M) applied to the tether (4) itself. Specifically, the automatic apparatus (1) comprises actuation means (8) coupled to the retention means (5) and operatively connected to motorization means (9) which selectively move the actuation means (8) in a first direction, which causes the tether (4) to be unwound from the winding assembly (3), and together with the positioning of the separation means (6) in the unloading position, the deployment in orbit of the tether so that the mass (M) takes the operative condition, and in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, which causes the tether (4) to be rewound around the winding assembly (3) and the separation means (6) to be repositioned in the loading position.

Description

"AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR THE CONTROLLED
LAUNCH AND RECOVERY OF A TETHERED MASS IN ORBIT"
D E S C R I P T I O N
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention generally refers to an improved automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass - e.g. a probe, an instrument or any object - of a "tethered" type in orbit or a in free fall.
The automatic apparatus of the invention is al¬ so used, for example, for experimental applications under microgravity conditions obtained, for exam¬ ple, in specific plants, such as fall towers or aircrafts capable of performing parabolic flights.
The term "microgravity" means a particular con¬ dition obtainable by positioning a free-falling system inside a generic gravitational field.
Therefore, microgravity conditions are ob- tained in spacecrafts moving along curved trajecto¬ ries, subjected only to the action of the gravita¬ tional field (orbiting spatial platforms, strato¬ spheric probe rockets, Keplerian trajectory airplanes); can be obtained also on Earth by free fall (fall towers ) . More generally, the present invention refers to the field of mechanisms for unwinding and winding space tethers from a vehicle or satellite in gravi¬ tational orbit, particularly those mechanisms hav¬ ing a tether provided with high mechanical strength and having a length (also of 20-30 kilometers) for the passive deployment in gravitational orbit of a mass by a tether which is kept stretched by suita¬ bly managing the deployment speed thereof.
PRIOR ART
As it is known, one of the main problems jeop¬ ardizing a space application which provides to use a tether having a length of many kilometers, is the deployment in orbit (and the recovery thereof) of the tether itself, since passively unwinding the tether is possible only when the force generated by the gravitational gradient between the two orbiting masses, which increases as the difference of the orbital height measured along the local vertical increases, is sufficient to overcome the internal frictions of the unwinding mechanism.
A low value of the friction coefficient for a space-grade tether unwinding mechanism is therefore a fundamental aspect, particularly, for enabling to passively unwind and control conductive and non- conductive tethers, such as those for the electro- dynamic propulsion for lifting a satellite to the gravitational Earth orbit or for maintaining it in the orbit itself, for the orbital decay or for the re-entry into the atmosphere of a satellite at the end of the operative service life thereof, etcet¬ era .
Therefore, the present invention refers to mechanisms for unwinding a space-grade tether in a gravitational environment, having a low friction coefficient or a low unwinding resistance, in order to enable to passively unwind from an orbiting platform or vehicle a mass connected to said teth¬ er, upon applying an in-space deployment impulse, firstly supplied by separation means, for example, spring-type elastic means.
There are on the market solutions for apparat¬ uses for launching a mass - such as a probe, an instrument, or a generic object - of the so-called "tethered" type in a gravitational environment which have stimulated designing studies both in the industrial field and in the scientific and academic fields .
For example, it is made reference to the prior art patent publication US 7,178,763 B2 which dis- closes a mechanism only destined to passively auto¬ matically unwind tethers for industrial applica¬ tions, the technical teachings thereof are herein cited and incorporated as a reference to the near¬ est prior art.
A mechanism of a known type, as described in this document of the prior art, substantially com¬ prises a support structure which abuts on a refer¬ ence surface, which is for example the outer sur¬ face of an active satellite or of a spacecraft in the Earth orbit, and also a winding assembly cou¬ pled to the support structure and cooperating with a space tether wound around the winding assembly and provided with a first end fixed to a mass to be impulsively deployed in a gravitational orbit, and with an opposite second end coupled to a retention element associated to the winding assembly.
Said known unwinding mechanism also comprises spring-type separation means associated to the sup¬ port structure, and defining a loading position wherein the separation means are compressed by the mass stably held in a rest position, adjacent the separation means, for example by an interface plane interposed between the mass and separation means, and wherein the tether is wound around the winding assembly. Such separation means define also an un¬ loading position wherein they are released, and the mechanical energy stored by them in the loading po¬ sition, is transformed into kinetic energy which determines the impulsive unwinding of the winding assembly and the deployment in orbit of the mass which in this way takes an operative condition, separated from the support structure.
Lastly, a known mechanism for the deployment in the gravitational orbit of a tether provided at an end of a terminal mass, comprises also braking means operatively connected to the winding assembly and supported by said support structure, cooperat¬ ing with the tether for decreasing the unwinding speed from the winding assembly during the deploy¬ ment in the gravitational orbit of the mass applied to the tether itself.
However, on the assumption that this evolution of an automatic device for launching a "tethered" mass in a gravitational environment of the type de¬ scribed for example in the prior patent document US 7,178,763 B2, had perhaps an operative efficacy even though not demonstrated, it shows some undeni¬ able well-known inconveniences.
A first inconvenience of such device or mecha- nism for a known type space use is represented by the fact that it only enables to unwind the tether and mass associated to it, and does not provide to recover the tether (these systems are known as "on¬ ly expendable" ) : this results in a disadvantage for example when a determined launch of a mass fails because prevents to effectively and correctly re¬ peat it, or in case of a possible reuse of the tether for following and further launches thereof, potentially possible since the tether maintains un¬ altered for a long time its structural integrity by virtue of high mechanical strength materials by which the tether is made in the more developed practical solutions.
A second inconvenience of the passive space- grade tether unwinding mechanisms of the prior art nearest to the invention, represented, for example, in the prior document US 7,178,763 B2, stems by the fact that they are somewhat complex systems from a constructive point of view, rather bulky, heavy and they are not always fully reliable.
A last but not least inconvenience of the de¬ vice or mechanism of the above briefly described type is due to the high costs of the technology provided for manufacturing them which also increas- es the transport costs, use, and servicing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, by knowing the above given inconveniences of the prior art state, the present inven¬ tion intends to offer a full solution.
Particularly, the main object of the invention consists of providing an automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall which, with respect to the known type equivalent apparatuses, enables, when needed, also a con¬ trolled and effective recovery of the tether from the gravitational orbit, for making it again avail¬ able for new following launches.
In other words, said primary object of the pre¬ sent invention consists of implementing an improved automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall, which performs both a de¬ ployment of the tether and a winding of the tether itself in the outline defined by the support struc¬ ture of the automatic apparatus itself.
In the context of such object, it is a task of the present invention to provide an improved auto¬ matic apparatus for the controlled launch and re- covery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall, whose use enables to in¬ crease the efficiency with respect to known auto¬ matic apparatuses comparable to it.
It is another task of the invention to provide an automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall, which enables to more effectively offset the manufacturing costs in comparison with the known type equivalent apparat¬ uses.
It is another object of the present invention to define an automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit which, generally, is more reliable than a similar prior art.
It is a further object of the invention to de¬ vise an automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in a gravitational environment which is particularly compact and lightweight, while being at the same time reliable.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide an automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall which shows a relatively simple structural design, cer¬ tainly less complex than effectively operating equivalent apparatuses of the present state of the art .
A last but not least object of the present in¬ vention consists of making available an automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall, which has manufacturing costs which are really competitive and in any case lower than the ones of analogous apparatuses of the prior art, for the same cost of the employed labor and raw ma¬ terials .
Said objects are met by an automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall according to the attached claim 1, to which is made reference to the sake of the conciseness of the disclosure.
Further detailed constructive characteristics of the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a so-called "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the invention are con¬ tained in the respective dependent claims. Said claims, which will be specifically and substantively defined, are considered an integral part of the present description.
Advantageously, the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the invention, conse¬ quently enables also the automatic or automatized recovery of the tether when in orbit, by causing to rewind it around the winding assembly for making it available for following launches in the gravita¬ tional Earth space (this characteristic being known as "multi-shot") .
This is by virtue of the improved automatic ap¬ paratus of the invention which comprises actuation means coupled to a retention element of the winding assembly and operatively connected to motorization means which, when are commanded by a processing and control central unit (or command unit) managed from Earth and by the in-board instrumentation of the transporting spacecraft, selectively moves the ac¬ tuation means in a first direction (generally a first rotation direction) , which causes the tether to be unwound from the winding assembly and, while positioning the separation means in the unloading (or releasing) position, to deploy in orbit the tether so that the mass can take the operative con¬ dition, and in a second direction (generally a sec¬ ond rotation direction) opposite to the first di¬ rection, which causes the tether to be wound around the winding assembly and the separation means to be repositioned in the loading (or compression) position .
Still advantageously, the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "teth¬ ered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the inven¬ tion, is extremely compact (it has an overall height which does not exceed 350 cm) and is light¬ weight so that is easily transportable and storable and also mountable on a spacecraft.
Still more advantageously, the automatic appa¬ ratus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall, of the invention, exhibits a high operative reliability and a low power consumption, as opposed to the known type equivalent apparatuses which are also constructively more complex and more expensive than the improved automatic apparatus object of the pre¬ sent invention.
Equally advantageously, the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "teth- ered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the inven¬ tion, is a completely automatic system which reduc¬ es the unavoidable risk margins due to the human component which, in the space application field, must, as known, tend to the absolute zero.
Still advantageously, the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of the "tethered" mass in the gravitational field is par¬ ticularly fit to be used in experimental applica¬ tions destined to the industrialization which pro¬ vide microgravity conditions: under such condi¬ tions, the internal residual friction is very low (less than 100 mN) , there is a very low inertia when the tether is unwound from the central spool of the winding assembly (the moving mass is less than 1 g) and the control of the tether trajectory is very precise.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The discussed objects and advantages, and also other which will emerge in the following, will be better understood from the attached description re¬ ferring to a preferred embodiment of the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the present invention, given in an exemplifying indica- tive, but non-restrictive way, by the aid of the attached drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic simplified lateral view of the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in the gravitational field (or in orbit or in free fall) of the invention, the mass being in the operative condition;
- Figure 2 is a simplified axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of the invention, the mass being in the rest condition;
- Figure 3 is a simplified axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of the invention, the mass being in the step of being deployed in the orbit from the rest condition to the operative one;
- Figures 4 and 5 are two distinct axonometric views of one of the constructive assemblies of the automatic apparatus of Figures 2 and 3 which form the inventive main core of the invention;
- Figure 6 is an exploded view of the construc¬ tive assembly of Figures 4 and 5;
- Figures 7 and 8 are two distinct axonometric views of another of the constructive assemblies of the automatic apparatus of Figures 2 and 3 which form the inventive main core of the invention; - Figure 9 is a cutaway enlargement of the up¬ per part of the constructive assembly of Figures 7 and 8 ;
- Figure 10 is a simplified axonometric view of Figures 7 and 8 ;
- Figure 11 is a top simplified cutaway axono¬ metric view of Figure 10;
- Figure 12 is an exploded axonometric view of the constructive assembly of Figure 6;
- Figure 13 is a first cutaway axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of Figure 2 ;
Figure 14 is a second cutaway axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of Figure 2 ;
- Figure 15 is a partial cutaway enlargement of Figure 14;
- Figure 16 is an axonometric view of the con¬ structive assembly of Figure 13 and 14;
- Figure 17 is a first cutaway axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of Figure 3;
- Figure 18 is a second cutaway axonometric view of the automatic apparatus of Figure 3;
- Figure 19 is a flow diagram explaining a general operation of a preferred embodiment variant of the automatic apparatus of the invention.
DE TAILED DESCRIPTION The improved automatic apparatus for the con¬ trolled launch and recovery from this of a mass M of the so-called "tethered" type in the Earth grav¬ itational field, is shown in different conditions in Figures from 1 to 3 wherein is generally indi¬ cated by reference 1.
As it is observed, the improved automatic appa¬ ratus 1 comprises:
- a support structure, generally indicated by reference 2, adapted to abut on a reference sur¬ face, not illustrated, but formed for example by the outer surface of an active satellite or a spacecraft in the Earth orbit;
a winding assembly, generally indicated by reference 3, coupled to the support structure 2 and cooperating with a space-grade tether 4 wound around the winding assembly 3 and provided with a first end 4a fixed to a mass M (which is herein ex- emplifyingly represented by a type of probe) to be impulsively deployed in gravitational orbit and an opposite second end 4b coupled to a retention drag¬ ging element 5 associated to the winding assembly 3;
- separation means, generally indicated by ref¬ erence 6, associated to the support structure 2, and defining:
• a loading position, wherein the separation means 6 are compressed by the mass M stably main¬ tained in a rest condition, associated at the top to the separation means 6 and contained within the outline defined by the support structure 2, and the tether 4 is wound around the winding assembly 3;
• an unloading position, wherein the separation means 6 are released and the mechanical energy stored by them in the loading position, is transformed into kinetic energy that causes the impul¬ sive unwinding of the tensioned tether 4 from the winding assembly 3 and the deployment in orbit of said mass M which takes an operative condition, separated from the separation means 6 and away from the support structure 2 ;
- braking means, generally indicated by refer¬ ence 7, operatively connected to the winding assem¬ bly 3 and supported by the support structure 2, co¬ operating with the tether 4 for decreasing the unwinding speed from the winding assembly 3 during said deployment in gravitation orbit of the mass M applied to the tether 4.
According to the invention, the improved auto¬ matic apparatus 1 comprises actuation means, gener- ally indicated by reference 8, coupled to the re¬ tention element 5 and operatively connected to the motorization means, generally indicated by refer¬ ence 9, which selectively move the actuation means 8 in a first direction, which causes the tether 4 to be unwound from the winding assembly 3 and, while the separation means 6 are positioned in said unloading position, causes the tensioned tether 4 to be deployed in orbit so that the mass M takes the operative condition, and in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, which causes the tether 4 to be wound around the winding assembly 3 and causes the separation means 6 to be reposi¬ tioned in the loading position in which are held by a suitable retention system, as will be described in the following.
Specifically, the winding assembly 3, braking means 7 and separation means 6 are substantially aligned to each other along a vertical axis Y and are contained in the vertical outline of the sup¬ port structure 2, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.
In addition, the braking means 7 are, in this particular case, suitably interposed between the winding assembly 3 and separation means 6, which, in turn, with respect to the winding assembly 3 and breaking system 7, are more distanced from a base platform 10 belonging to the support structure 2 and adapted to promote a transport, also by hand, by operators by virtue of the low overall weight of the automatic apparatus 1 of the invention.
Still more particularly, the motorization means 9 and winding assembly 3 are fixed to such base platform 10 of the support structure 2 and, as just said, are contained in the vertical outline of the lower part of the support structure 2.
Preferably, but not necessarily, the motoriza¬ tion means 9 comprise a servomotor, of a per se known type (provided with an internal auto- regulation speed, for example) and are operatively connected to the winding assembly 3 by transmission means, globally indicated by reference 11, adapted to cause the retention means 5 to rotate about the vertical axis Y defined by the winding assembly 3.
The retention element 5, put in rotation in this way, drags the tether 4 for:
• unwinding the tether 4 from the winding assembly 3 when the actuation means 8 are moved by the motorization means 9 in the first direction - coinciding with the first rotation direction of the actuation means 8 - and pass from a locking posi- tion to an unlocking position of the tether 4 ;
• rewinding the tether 4 around the winding assembly 3 when the actuation means 8 are moved by the motorization means 9 in the second direction - coinciding with a second rotation direction of the actuation means 8, opposite to the first rotation direction - and pass from the unlocking position to the locking position.
As it can be better understood from Figures 4, 5 and 6, the transmission means 11 preferably com¬ prise a gear, generally indicated by reference 12, the plate wheel 13 thereof is integral with the ac¬ tuation means 8 and the pinion 14 thereof meshing with such plate wheel 13 is connected to the motor¬ ization means 9.
Figure 3, together with Figures 7 and 9, highlights, in an advantageously preferred but non- limiting and non-exclusive way, that the winding assembly 3 comprises:
- a tubular cylindrical outer body 15 fixed to the base platform 10 and exhibiting, in the inner wall 15a, a first peripheral groove 16 which guides a projecting pin 17 (visible in Figures from 4 to 6) which belongs to the retention and dragging element 5 and supports the tether 4, the first periph- eral groove 16 communicating with a second annular groove 18 made in the tubular external body 15 for enabling to pass the actuation means 8 from a locking position to an unlocking position of the tether 4 when are moved in the hereinbefore defined first direction;
- a central fixed spool 19 stably coupled to the base platform 10 and coaxial with the tubular outer body 15 and cooperating with the tether 4 so that:
• the tether 4 is wound around the outer sur¬ face 19a of the central spool 19 when the separa¬ tion means 6 take the loading position and the mass M takes the before defined rest condition;
• the tether 4 is unwound from the central spool 19 when the actuation means 8 pass from the locking position to the unlocking position of the tether 4 when are moved in the first direction and when the separation means 6 pass from the loading position to the unloading position and the mass M pass from the rest condition to the hereinbefore defined operative condition;
• the tether 4 is rewound around the outer sur¬ face 19a of the central spool 19 when the actuation means 8 pass from the unlocking position to the locking position of the tether 4 when are moved in the second direction and when the separation means 6 pass from the unloading position to the loading position, and the mass M passes from the operative condition to the rest condition.
Particularly, while the tether 4 is unwound from the central spool 19 of the winding assembly 3, the projecting pin 17, after exiting the first peripheral groove 16 preferably and substantially developing along a semi circumference, always slides in a guided way in the second annular groove 18 during the rotation of the actuation means 8 about the vertical axis Y and therefore performs a substantial series of complete rounds about the vertical axis Y.
On the contrary, in other words when the tether 4 is rewound around the central spool 19 of the winding assembly 3, the projecting pin 17, before entering again in the first peripheral groove 16, keeps on sliding in a guided way in the second an¬ nular groove 18 during the opposite rotation of the actuation means 8 about the vertical axis Y, per¬ forming, also in this case, a substantial series of complete rounds about the vertical axis Y.
With reference to this matter, advantageously, the actuation means 8 take again the locking position from the unlocking position, enabling in this way to rewind the tether 4 around the outer surface 19a of the central spool 19 and to recovery the mass M (consisting in recovering any space object by the spacecraft on which the automatic apparatus 1 of the invention is installed, for example) , by means of return means, not shown in the attached figures, which reposition the projecting pin 17 of the retention element 5 from the second annular groove 18 to the first peripheral groove 16.
Before completely rewinding the tether 4 around the winding assembly 3 during the passage of the actuation means 8 from the unlocking position to the locking position, the projecting pin 17 abuts against end-of-stroke means, which in this particu¬ lar case are implemented by an end-of-stroke trans¬ versal corner 20 made in the inner wall 15a of the tubular outer body 15 and delimiting the first peripheral groove 16 oppositely to the outlet mouth 43 connecting the first peripheral groove 16 to the second annular groove 17: so that moving continu¬ ously the actuation means 8 causes to also rewind around the central spool 19 of the winding assembly 3, the starting portion of the tether 4 and conse- quently almost all the length thereof (aside from the segment extending from the projecting pin 17 to the central spool 19) .
In this specific case, preferably the actuation means 8 comprise, in a non-limiting way, a fishing reel tether guide 21 (of the type employed in fish¬ ing rods) fixed to a support plate 22 integral with the motorization means 9 which cause the movement: the unlocking position of the actuation means 8 is the same as the open or vertical position of the fishing reel tether guide 21 (visible in Figures from 4 to 8, for example), while the locking posi¬ tion of the actuation means 8 is the same as the closed or horizontal position of the fishing reel tether guide 21 (visible in Figure 9, for example) .
Moreover, Figures 7, 8 and 9 highlight the presence of a shaped bracket 44, preferably a sub¬ stantially C shaped bracket, which overlies the winding assembly 3 in order to define a type of bridge: the shaped bracket 44 centrally has a through hole 45 in which the tether 4 is inserted and which, therefore, acts as a further guide for the portion of the tether 4 just released from the winding assembly 3.
Suitably but non in an exclusive way, the auto- matic apparatus 1 of the invention comprises detec¬ tion means, generally indicated by reference 23, coupled to the winding assembly 3 and electrically connected to the hereinbefore cited processing and control unit (not shown) , and adapted to detect the passage of the tether 4 when the same is unwound from the winding assembly 3 by the motion of the actuation means 8 in the first direction, and/or when the tether 4 is rewound around the winding as¬ sembly 3 by the motion of the actuation means 8 in the second direction, so that the processing and control central unit calculates at least the length of the tether 4 which was unwound and compares it with a preset reference trajectory which must be faithfully followed, stored in the processing and control central unit for checking the progress of the tether 4 unwinding step, the deployment in gravitational orbit of the mass M, and the compli¬ ance to this reference trajectory.
More particularly, the detection means 23 comprise in this case:
- a plurality of sources 24 of light rays R (infrared rays, for example) electrically connected to an electric power unit available in board the spacecraft on which the automatic apparatus 1 of the invention is installed, uniformly distributed on the winding assembly 3, as hereinbelow shown in Figures 9 and 12;
- a plurality of respective receivers (or opti¬ cal sensors or photocells) 25 facing the respective light rays R sources 24, and uniformly distributed on the winding assembly 3, as particularly illustrated in Figure 7, 8, 9 and 10.
The light rays R sources 24 are housed in open profile superficial recesses 26 uniformly distrib¬ uted on the outer surface 19a of the central spool 19 and emit the light rays R towards the receivers (or optical sensors) 25 uniformly arranged on a laminar ring 27 at the top associated to and coaxi¬ al with the tubular outer body 15 surrounding the central spool 19; particularly, the laminar ring 27 is preferably a piece distinct from the tubular outer body 15 which surrounds the central spool 19 and to which is coupled by fixing means, not shown, and of a type per se known to a person skilled in the field.
In this case, the number of the light rays R sources 24 and receivers 25 is eight, as an exem¬ plifying indicative but preferred way: generally, however, the number of light rays R sources 24 and receivers 25 is inversely proportional to the length of the tether 4 to be deployed in orbit, in order to ensure the best accuracy or resolution when calculating the deployed length of the stretched tether 4 during the passage of the mass M from the rest position to the operative position.
With reference to the hereinbefore cited brak¬ ing means 7, Figures 2 and 3 show that they are ar¬ ranged at a preset distance from the base platform 10 belonging to the support structure 2 and, as shown in Figure 13, they are connected by support means, generally indicated by reference 28, at the bottom, to an interface intermediate plate 29 be¬ longing to the support structure 2 and defining a plane parallel to the plane defined by the base platform 10.
According to the preferred embodiment herein described of the invention, the braking means 7 are of a dynamic type since they are operatively con¬ nected to auxiliary motorization means, generally indicated by reference 30, coupled to the interface intermediate plate 29 of the support structure 2 and, in the presence of deviations of the actual trajectory of the tether 4 from the preset reference trajectory to be follow, are operated in order to automatically vary the spatial position of the braking means 7 and to precisely continuously time¬ ly adjust at least the unwinding speed of the teth¬ er 4 from the winding assembly 3 passing through the braking means 7 during the deployment in gravitational orbit of the tether 4.
In other words, as shown also in Figures 14 and 15, the braking means 7 are operatively connected to the auxiliary motorization means 30 which are coupled to the support structure 2, and vary the space position of the braking means 7 during the deployment in gravitational orbit of the tether 4 and, by it, of the mass M, as a function of a more or less long portion (sometimes no portion at all, when required) of the tether 4 to be engaged in the braking means 7, established by controlling the preset reference trajectory which the tether 4 must follow, in order to consequently obtain an automat¬ ic and continuous reset of the error in the actual deployment trajectory of said tether 4 with respect to the present reference trajectory and the precise regulation at least of the unwinding speed of the tether 4 from the winding assembly 3 and, conse¬ quently, of the mass M from the support structure 2. Preferably, but not necessarily, the braking means 7 comprise:
- two rotating rollers 31, 32 made, for example, of anodized aluminum, each having an outer surface 31a, 32a provided with a friction coeffi¬ cient, and coupled to two side flanges 33, 34 sepa¬ rated from each other, opposite and facing each other, which makes them integral with each other;
- two threaded transverse bars 35, 51, better visible in Figure 16, operatively connected to the auxiliary motorization means 30 and coupled to the side flanges 33, 34 respectively engaging a pair of nut screws 36, 37 coaxial to each other made one for each of the side flanges 33, 34: the threaded transverse bars 35 defining a common main linear axis X parallel to a secondary linear axis X' de¬ fined by each of the two rotating rollers 31, 32 and is supported by a pair of mechanical bearings 38, 39 opposite to each other, each of them receives a predefined portion of the respective threaded transverse bar 35 and 51 and is arranged at the free end of a fixing block 46 projecting from the lower wall 29a of the intermediate inter¬ face plate 29 belonging to the support structure 2.
Substantially, the auxiliary motorization means 30 rotatively move the threaded transverse bars 35, 51 consequently causing a variation of the recipro¬ cal spatial position of the two cylindrical rollers 31, 32, according to requirements associated to the actual trajectory of the tether 4, set by the benchmark consisting in the preset reference tra¬ jectory to be faithfully followed: the more the tortuousness of the tether 4 path passing between the cylindrical rollers 31, 32 increases, the more the tether 4 surface contacting the two cylindrical rollers 31, 32 increases and the more the speed of deploying the tether 4 from the winding assembly 3 and of putting the mass M in orbit decreases.
It is understood that in other implementation variants of the improved automatic apparatus of the invention which are not herein provided with reference to the drawings, the braking means could com¬ prise a different number of cylindrical rollers, since such number can vary according to manufacturing choices starting from two, and a different num¬ ber of threaded transverse bars, since such number can vary as a function of manufacturing needs starting from one.
In addition, also the number of mechanical bearings supporting the (at least one) threaded transverse bar could be different in other embodi¬ ment solutions, not shown, of the braking means of the improved automatic apparatus of the invention, since such number can vary according to manufacturing choices starting from one.
Moreover, Figure 13 illustrates, that the sepa¬ ration means 6 are preferably of an elastic type and comprise preferably but in a non-exclusive way, a helical or compression spring 40 abutting against the upper surface 29b of the interface intermediate plate 29 and kept compressed in the closing posi¬ tion by the mass M which is stably kept in the rest condition, completely in the outline defined by the support structure 2 (in this case by a plurality of vertical columns 47 passing through the interface intermediate plate 29 and fixed at an end 47a to the base platform 2), by removable hooking means, generally indicated by reference 41.
More particularly, the mass M, when is in the rest condition (visible in Figures 13, 14, and 15), indirectly compresses the helical or compression spring 40 being arranged above an intermediate body 42 which separates the mass M from the helical or compression spring 40 by which is consequently in direct contact. On the contrary, Figures 17 and 18 show the mass M while is going to separate from the support structure 2 due to the impulsive deployment con¬ ferred to it by the helical or torsion spring 40 of the separation means 6. When the mass M passes from the rest condition to the operative one, the inter¬ mediate body 42 acts as an axially upwardly sliding carriage, since the separation means 6 are re¬ leased, guided by the columns 47 for thrusting the mass M outside the support structure 2 and for ena¬ bling to put it in the gravitational orbit.
As an illustrative but non-limiting example, the removable hooking means 41 comprise, in this case, a plurality of projecting magnets 48 fixed to a laminar plate 49 disposed above the interface in¬ termediate plate 29 and aiding to support and line¬ arly guiding the separation means 6 during the releasing step: the projecting magnets 48 are arranged in order to pass through respective through openings 50 made in the intermediate body 42 and contactingly cooperate with the mass M when is in the rest condition.
The projecting magnets 48 are electrically sup¬ plied by the power unit available in board the spacecraft, wherein the automatic apparatus 1 of the invention is installed: by eliminating the electric current supply to the projecting magnets 48, these are no more capable of holding the mass M which, consequently, is free of being impulsively deployed in the Earth orbit by the separation means 6 which naturally take (by simply removing the mass M from them) the unloading position, while the actuation means 8 are moved in the beforehand defined first direction determined by the motorization means 9.
The overall operation of the improved automatic apparatus 1 of the invention, particularly of the motorization means 9, auxiliary motorization means 30, detection means 23, and removable hooking means 41, is suitably managed by the processing and con¬ trol (or command) central unit hereinbefore de¬ fined, which contributes to the accuracy and relia¬ bility of the improved automatic apparatus 1 herein claimed .
Lastly, Figure 19 highlight, by a flow diagram, a general operative mode of the improved automatic apparatus 1 of the present invention: in this dia¬ gram, " I! " is the length of the tether 4 exiting the winding assembly 3, while " I! ' " is the speed by which the tether 4 is unwound from the winding as- semb1y 3.
In such flow diagram in Figure 19, it is ob¬ served in particular the "closed-loop" type control system used by the present invention, which enables to constantly and effectively follow the preset reference trajectory to be met for obtaining the target .
Advantageously but in a non-limiting way, the tether 4 to be deployed in the gravitational Earth orbit, has a high mechanical resistance and a length from approximately tenths of centimeters to several hundreds of kilometers (twenty-thirty kilo¬ meters, for example) .
Specifically, preferably the tether 4 is twist¬ ed for loosing a shape memory thereof, and exhibits a thickness generally comprised between 0.4 and 0.8 mm, generally equal to 0.6 mm. In any case, the thickness of the tether 4 depends on the type of the employed tether ( electrodynamic tethers, coated tethers, etcetera) .
The space tether 4 used in the present inven¬ tion is made of any one of the materials selected in the assembly consisting of copper, aluminum, steel, glass fiber, quartz fiber or, preferably, of high density polyethylene (in the varieties known in the market by the trademarks "Dyneema®" or "Spectra®", synthetic fibers particularly adapted to manufacture tensile cables which have a mechani¬ cal strength fifteen times greater than the one of the steel) and other materials having a similar me¬ chanical strength, tensile strength, without elas¬ ticity or memory shape.
Based on the hereinbefore given description, therefore, it is understood that the automatic ap¬ paratus for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass of the so-called "tethered" type in orbit or in free fall, object of the present invention, meets the objects and obtains the hereinbefore cit¬ ed advantages.
In the manufacturing step, to the automatic ap¬ paratus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the present invention, can be introduced consistent modifications, for example, of the separation means, different from the ones previously described and illustrated in the attached figures, since they can be of another kind, for example, can be elec¬ tromagnetic .
Besides that, other embodiments of the automat¬ ic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall here¬ in claimed, can be provided in which the actuation means could have a constructive design different from the one shown in the present description, which does not jeopardize the advantage introduced by the present invention. Moreover, in further constructive variants of the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of the "teth¬ ered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the present invention, not shown in the following drawings, the winding assembly could be different from the one shown in such drawings, and which was previously used for describing the preferred embodiment vari¬ ant of the invention.
Lastly, also the braking means could have a different constructive arrangement in alternative optional variants of the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass of the invention, even though they have the same function, particularly of a dynamic brake for the deployment speed of the tether and by it of the mass to be put in the Earth gravitational orbit.
It is observed that the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a "tethered" mass in orbit or in free fall of the invention, can be installed in active satellites in order to be used for capturing space debris in orbit, for con¬ necting two satellites in orbit ("soft-docking") or more generally, for the on orbit servicing.
Lastly, it is evident that several other vari¬ ants can be introduced in the automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a so- called "tethered" type mass in orbit, under consid¬ eration, without falling out of the novelty princi¬ ples intrinsic in the inventive idea, and is also clear that, in the practical implementation of the invention, the materials, shapes and dimensions of the illustrated details, could be implemented in anyway, according to the needs, and could be sub¬ stituted with other technically equivalents.
The only object of the reference marks or num¬ bers following the manufacturing characteristics and techniques mentioned in the attached claims, consists of improving the intelligibility of the claims themselves and, consequently, they do not have any restrictive effect on the comprehension of each element identified, only illustratively, by such reference marks.

Claims

1. Automathic apparatus (1) for the controlled launch and recovery of a mass (M) of so-called "tethered" type comprising:
- support structure (2) suitable to rest on a ref¬ erence surface;
- a winding assembly (3) coupled with said support structure (2) and cooperating with a spatial use tether (4) wound around said winding assembly (3) and provided with a first end (4a) fixed to a mass (M) to be impulsively deployed in gravi¬ tational orbit and an opposite second end (4b) coupled with a retention element (5) associated with said winding assembly (3);
- separation means (6) associated with said sup¬ port structure (2) and defining:
•a loading position in which said separation means (6) are compressed by said mass (M) sta¬ bly kept in a rest condition, close to said separation means (6), and said tether (4) is wound on said the winding unit (3);
•an unloading position in which said separation means (6) are released and the mechanical en¬ ergy accumulated by them in said loading posi¬ tion is transformed into kinetic energy that causes the impulsive unwinding of said tether (4) from said winding group (3) and the free deployment in orbit of said mass (M) which takes an operating condition, separated from said support structure (2);
- braking means (7) operatively connected with said winding assembly (3) and supported by said support structure (2), cooperating with said tether (4) in order to slow its unwinding speed from said winding assembly (3) during said deployment in gravitational orbit of said mass (M) applied to said tether (4),
characterized in that it comprises actuation means (8) coupled with said retention element (5) and op¬ eratively connected with motorization means (9) which selectively move said actuation means (8) in a first direction, which causes said unwinding of said tether (4) from said winding assembly (3) and, together with the positioning of said separation means (6) in said unloading position, said deployment in orbit of said tether (4) in such a way that said mass (M) takes said operating condition, and in a second direction, opposite to said first di¬ rection, which causes the rewinding of the tether (4) on said winding assembly (3) and the reposi- tioning of said separation means (6) in said loading position.
2. Apparatus (1) according to claim 1), character¬ ized in that said winding assembly (3), said brak¬ ing means (7) and said separation means (6) are substantially aligned each other along a vertical axis (Y) and said braking means (7) are interposed between said winding assembly (3) and said separa¬ tion means (6) which, with respect to said winding unit (3) and said braking means (7), are arranged at greater distance from a base platform (10) belonging to said support structure (2) .
3. Apparatus (1) according to claim 2), characterized in that said motorization means (9) and said winding assembly (3) are fixed to said base plat¬ form (10) of said support structure (2) and are vertically contained within the outline of said support structure (2) .
4. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said motorization means (9) are operatively connected with said wind¬ ing assembly (3) through transmission means (11) suitable to determine the rotation of said reten¬ tion element (5) around a vertical axis (Y) defined by said winding assembly (3), said retention ele- ment (5) in rotation, dragging said tether (4) in such a way as to:
• unwind said tether (4) from said winding unit (3) when said actuation means (8) are moved in said first direction, which coincides with a first rotation direction of said actuation means (8), and pass from a locking position to an unlocking position of said tether (4);
• rewind said tether (4) of said winding assembly (3) when said actuation means (8) are moved in said second direction, which coincides with a second rotation direction of said actuation means (8), opposite to said first rotation di¬ rection, and pass from said unlocking position to said locking position.
5. Apparatus (1) according to claim 4), characterized in that said transmission means (11) comprise a gear (12), whose plate wheel (13) is integral with said actuation means (8) and whose pinion (14) which meshes with said plate wheel (13) is connect¬ ed with said motorization means (9) .
6. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said winding assembly (3) comprises: a tubular and cylindrical outer body (15) fixed to a base platform (10) and having in the inner wall (15a) a first peripheral groove (16) in which a projecting pin that belongs to said re¬ taining element (5) and supports said tether (4) is guided (17), said first peripheral groove (16) communicating with a second annular groove (18) made in said tubular outer body (15) to allow the passage of said actuation means (8) from a locking position to an unlocking position of said tether (4) when they are moved in said first direction;
a central spool (19), fixed to said base plat¬ form (10) and coaxial to said tubular outer body (15) and cooperating with said tether (4) in such a way that :
• said tether (4) is wound around the outer sur¬ face (19a) of said central spool (19) when said separation means (6) take said loading position and said mass (M) takes said rest condition;
• said tether (4) is unwound from said central spool (19) in the passage of said actuation means (8) from said locking position to said unlocking position of said tether (4) when they are moved in said first direction and when said separation means (6) pass from said loading position to said unloading position and said mass (M) passes from said rest condi¬ tion to said operating condition;
• said tether (4) is rewound on said outer surface (19a) of said central spool (19) in the passage of said actuation means (8) from said unlocking position to said locking position of said tether (4) when they are moved in said second direction and when said separation means (6) pass from said unloading position to said loading position and said mass (M) passes from said operating condition to said rest condition .
7. Apparatus (1) according to claim 6), characterized in that said actuation means (8) take again said locking position from said unlocking position allowing said rewinding of said tether (4) on said outer surface (19a) of said central spool (19) thanks to return means which bring said projecting pin (17) of said retention element (5) from said second annular groove (18) in said first peripheral groove (16) .
8. Apparatus (1) according to any of the claims 6) or 7), characterized in that said tubular outer body (15) comprises in said inner wall (15a) end- of-stroke means (20) delimiting said first periph¬ eral groove (16) and arranged at the opposite side with respect to an outlet mouth (43) which connects said first peripheral groove (16) with said second annular groove (17), said projecting pin (17) contrasting against said end-of-stroke means (20) be¬ fore said tether (4) is fully rewound on said wind¬ ing assembly (3) during the passage of said actua¬ tion means (8) from said unlocking position to said locking position, in such a way that continuation of the movement of said actuation means ( 8) also determines rewinding of the initial portion of said tether (4) on said central spool (19) of said wind¬ ing assembly (3) .
9. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuation means (8) comprise a reel tether guide (21) fixed to a support plate (22) integral with said motorization means (9) which determines its moving.
10. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes detection means (23) coupled with said winding assembly (3) and electrically connected with a central pro¬ cessing and control unit and suitable to detect the passage of said tether (4) during said unwinding of said tether (4) from said winding assembly (3) and/or said rewinding of said tether (4) of said winding assembly (3), in such a way that said central processing and control unit calculates at least the length of said tether (4) which has been unwound and the compares it with a preset reference trajectory stored in said central processing and control unit in order to check the progress of said unwinding of said tether (4) and of said deployment in gravitational orbit of said mass (M) and the comply with said reference trajectory.
11. Apparatus (1) according to claim 10), charac¬ terized in that said detection means (23) comprise:
- a plurality of sources (24) of luminous rays (R) electrically connected with an electrical power unit and uniformly distributed over said winding assembly ( 3 ) ;
- a plurality of as many receivers (25) facing said sources (24) of luminous rays (R) and uni¬ formly distributed over said winding assembly (3) .
12. Apparatus (1) according to claims 11) when claim 10) depends on any of the claims 6), 7) or 8), characterized in that said sources (24) of lu¬ minous rays (R) are housed in recesses superficial open profile (26) uniformly distributed on said outer surface (19a) of said central spool (19) and emit said light rays towards said receivers (25) distributed uniformly on a laminar ring (27) associated at the upper and coaxial to said body tubu¬ lar outer (15) which surrounds said central spool (19) .
13. Apparatus (1) according to claim 12), charac¬ terized in that the number of said sources (24) of luminous rays and of said receivers (25) is in¬ versely proportional to the length of said tether (4) to be deployed, in order to ensure the highest accuracy or resolution as possible in the calcula¬ tion of the deployed length of said tensioned teth¬ er (4) during the passage of said mass (M) from said rest position to said operating position.
14. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said braking means (7) are arranged at a predetermined distance from a base platform (10) belonging to said support struc¬ ture (2) and are inferiorly connected through sup- port means (28) with an intermediate plate (29) be¬ longing to said support structure (2) .
15. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said braking means (7) are of the dynamic type being operatively con¬ nected with auxiliary motorization means (30) coupled with said support structure (2) and, in pres¬ ence of deviations of the actual trajectory of said tether (4) from a preset reference trajectory to be met, are operated in such a way as to vary the spa¬ tial position of said braking means (7) and adjust with precision at least said speed of unwinding of said tether (4) from said winding assembly (3) crossing said braking means (7) during said deployment in gravitational orbit of said tether (4) .
16. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said braking means
(7) are operatively connected with said support structure coupled with auxiliary driving means (30)
(2) and suitable to vary the spatial position of said braking means (7) during said deployment in gravitational orbit of said tether (4) and said mass (M) , as a function of the portion of said tether (4) to be engaged in said braking means (7) established according to a preset reference trajec- tory which said tether (4) must meet, so as to ob¬ tain the automatic reset of the error in the actual deployment trajectory of said tether (4) with respect to said preset reference trajectory.
17. Apparatus (1) according to claim 15) or 16), characterized in that said braking means (7) com¬ prise :
- at least two rotating rollers (31, 32) each having an outer surface (31a, 32a) with a friction coefficient and coupled with two side flanges (33, 34) separated and facing each other;
- at least one threaded transverse bar (35, 51) connected with said auxiliary motorization means (30) and arranged passing in each of said side flanges (33, 34) engaging a pair of nut screws (36, 37) coaxial each other made one for each of said side flanges (33, 34), said threaded trans¬ verse bar (35, 51) defining a main linear axis (X) parallel to a secondary linear axis (Χ') de¬ fined by each of said rotating rollers (31, 32) and being supported by at least one mechanical bearing (38, 39) which receives a predefined portion of said threaded transverse bar (35, 51) and is arranged at the free end of a fixing block (46) projecting from the lower wall (29a) of an intermediate plate (29) belonging to said support structure (2) .
18. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said separation means (6) comprise a helical or compression spring (40) kept compressed in said loading position by said mass (M) which is stably kept in said rest condi¬ tion, in the overall dimensions defined by said support structure (2), by means of removable en¬ gagement means (41) .
19. Apparatus (1) according to claim 18), charac¬ terized in that when it takes said rest condition, said mass (M) indirectly compresses said helical or compression spring (40) being arranged above an intermediate body (42) which separates said mass (M) from said helical or compression spring (40) .
20. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tether (4) has a high mechanical strength and a length from few tens of centimetres to hundreds of chilometres.
21. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tether (4) is twisted in such a way as it lacks memory shape.
22. Apparatus (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tether (4) is made of any one of the materials selected from the group consisting of copper, aluminium, steel, glass fiber, quartz fiber, high density polyethylene and other similar materials for mechanical strength, tensile strength, elasticity or shape memory lack.
PCT/IB2018/052401 2017-04-11 2018-04-06 Automatic apparatus for the controlled launch and recovery of a tethered mass in orbit WO2018189633A1 (en)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN110111653A (en) * 2019-05-14 2019-08-09 江苏师范大学 A kind of steel ball semi-automatic collecting device for acceleration of gravity experiment
CN112709732A (en) * 2020-12-29 2021-04-27 中北大学 Automatic butt joint device
CN114633905A (en) * 2022-03-29 2022-06-17 中国科学院国家空间科学中心 Device for microgravity experiment by utilizing facility with height drop
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Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US11772827B2 (en) * 2019-04-12 2023-10-03 DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FüR LUFT-UND RAUMFAHRT E.V. Device and method for unfolding a rolled-up elongate hollow member
CN110111653A (en) * 2019-05-14 2019-08-09 江苏师范大学 A kind of steel ball semi-automatic collecting device for acceleration of gravity experiment
CN112709732A (en) * 2020-12-29 2021-04-27 中北大学 Automatic butt joint device
CN114633905A (en) * 2022-03-29 2022-06-17 中国科学院国家空间科学中心 Device for microgravity experiment by utilizing facility with height drop
CN114633905B (en) * 2022-03-29 2022-10-04 中国科学院国家空间科学中心 Device for microgravity experiment by utilizing facility with height drop

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